


A Dance with a Rose

by ShadowRose13



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M, First Dance, First Dates, Fluff, Platonic Relationships, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Friendship, Volume 5 (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-09-15 11:40:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16932606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowRose13/pseuds/ShadowRose13
Summary: Oscar receives a golden opportunity to do something nice for a girl he just met not maybe two weeks ago, but already really admires. Maybe this is his chance to get to know her better! At least, a way to do that and not get his teeth kicked in by a very protective Drunkle and Hulk-like older sister, who is equally very protective of said girl.





	1. Flowers for a Rose

Chapter 1: Flowers for a Rose

* * *

 

"So let me get this straight....Ozpin echoed in the back of Oscar's head(his usual hangout these days). 

"You wish to take Miss Rose...dancing?"

 

"you sound like its a foreign concept to you." Oscar jested. 

"On the contrary, young man, I have been to many a formal dance." Ozpin retorted, "I'm just a little....'rusty' as the children say these days."

"I just think it would be nice if Ruby got a day off for once. Something to take her mind off of things for a while. She deserves that at least. Don't you think so too?"

"I'm very inclined to agree with you, Oscar. After what she has experienced in such a short amount of time, she has more than earned herself a nice night out. But that just leaves one question."

"and that would be..?"

"How do you intend on asking her?"

Oscar's eyes got wide and his train of thought came to a screeching halt. It didn't occur to him that he would actually have to ask Ruby to go with him face to face until now. He was now officially up a creek.

"Uuuuuh...." Oscar's brain started to short circuit.  _Oh boy._ "What do you think I should do?" Oscar asked.

Suddenly, Oscar was taken back to the night Ozpin and Ruby first met. Seeing through another person's eyes a memory of the past. The start of a journey for the little girl in a red riding hood, sitting alone in a dark Police Interrogation room. And Oscar watched from Oz' point of view as a slightly younger and happier Ruby in a completely different outfit and an untorn red riding hood strait up INHALE an entire plate of chocolate chip cookies in under 5 minutes! Oscar had to admit, that was indeed a talent.

 _cookies...._ Oscar thought. Wait. "I could get her some cookies?" he tried, waiting for Ozpin's approval.

"....I recommend chocolate chip." He said at last, "Those are her favorite, or so I've been told. And not the crunchy kind,the soft and chewy kind."

"She's got good taste then!" Oscar commented when suddenly a light bulb blinked on in his head. "Oh! Flowers! I should get some flowers too!" And with that, Oscar finally had a starting point. Can't exactly ask a girl to a dance empty handed, especially not a girl like Ruby Rose. He began to comb the bustling city streets of Mistral for a decent flower shop or at least a cart. After wandering around for what felt like hours, he finally found something on one of the city's lower levels. A large wooden cart, painted emerald green with simple leafy vine accents painted in gold snaking around the edges. Gold lettering scrawled in fancy cursive on the front 'Persephone's Garden'. The owner of the cart was talking to another customer holding an arrangement of Indian paints and Bleeding Hearts and accented with small Tiger Lillies as Oscar approached the cart,so she didn't notice him. SHe wore a long white dress, seemingly draped over her, that faded into a light pink at the edges and clasped at the shoulders with Forget Me Nots. Long hot pink hair braided with wild flowers somehow matched her golden eyes. SHe certainly didn't look like she belong in the lower levels of the kingdom. Osca began scanning the large cart for everything from single flowers, to arranged bouquets both large and small wrapped in shimmery paper and tied together with brightly colored ribbons. Suddenly he spotted a large bouquet with red and white roses in it. He couldn't have found anything more perfect if he tried! Or so he thought. As Oscar went to reach for the flowers, Ozpin was quick to physically stop him dead in his tracks.

"No, Oscar! Not the white ones!" He warned.

"Why?" Oscar asked in a low whisper as to not attract attention to himself. The last thing he needed was the nice flower goddess lady who ran the cart to think he was crazy by seemingly talking to no one else from himself.

"Let's just say the white ones in particular would bring up a particularly....touchy subject for her."

Oscar looked at the white roses paired with the red ones and tried to think. Why would such a harmless flower make Ruby-

_Oh._

"Yes." Ozpin said grimly, "Those were Summer's favorite."

Now Oscar got it. He knew what it was like; losing a parent. Ruby lost one, but Oscar lost both, but still, he understood her pain. What he wouldn't give to see his Mom and Dad again. But he imagined it must have been way worse for Ruby. His parents were also farmers, but Summer Rose was also a Huntress like Ruby, and a damn good one at that according to Ozpin. ANd knowing first hand only a taste of the monsters outside the kingdoms, SUmmer might have died a very gruesome death. But gods forbid he ever became stupid enough to ask Ruby herself for the full story. That's just asking for trouble. That, and a Grade A ass kicking from the blonde hulk that Oscar had come to know as Ruby's very intimidating older sister, Yang. It was then that Oscar decided that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to get that particular flower arrangement after all. So now it was back to Square 1 as he began to search through the flowers again until he found another bouquet. Roses in full bloom, Red as rubies, paired with happy yellow sunflowers that reminded Oscar of Ruby's smile. It was like her positivity left a lasting impression or something! And when she- 

'focus,Oscar!' he snapped himself out before he went on a mental tangent. Now is not the time to be waxing poetic about the happy, deadly, sunshine goth he plans to take out on a date!

_wait_

did he just call it a date? Oh no. Oscar shook himself from his thoughts and started to focus on the flowers to keep himself from drifting off again. He noticed that the Roses and Sunflowers were accented with hints of Baby's Breath, which broke up the colors quite nicely and gave the eye a visual break from all the bright contrastic reds and yellows. Now this one will do nicely! Ozpin mentally nodded in approval. Oscar started fishing out a few lien from his pocket as he carefully lifted the bouquet from its stnad on the cart. What Oscar hadn't noticed was that Persephone. the afformentioned owner of the cart, had been watching him for the past 15 minutes out of curiosity and boredom as he perused through her beloved flowers, seemingly thinking very hard and carefully about what flowers he wanted. It's a rare occurrence that a boy that young would come by her garden and look at the flowers with such interest.

"Uh...hello." Oscar greeted her nervously.

"Why, hello young man! That's a lovely bouquet you got there! I always love a good Sunflower!" Persephone smiled cheerfully, "What's your name?"

"Oscar Pine"

"Ah, Pine trees. Persephone mused, their pine cones make excellent natural bird feeders if you cover them with peanut butter and bird seed and string them on tree branches!"

"Oh, interesting!" Oscar made a mental note to try that one time when he made it back home. IF he made it back home, that is. Oscar being a country boy, he knew a thing or two about nature, so he was all ears for this kind of thing.

"Might I ask who these flowers are for?" Persephone asked, "treating yourself today? Or are they for a certain someone?"She batted her eyes.

"Well..." Oscar rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "There's this girl...a friend of mine. She's had it pretty rough lately and I thought that taking her out on a nice night would cheer her up and lift her spirits. She's more than earned it by now. Or..at least that's what I think."

  
Persephone's Ichor colored eyes glimmered with excitement. "A;ways a noble effort, doing something nice for someone else!I hope your friend appreciates it!"

"I hope so too" Ocar replied as he began handing Persephone the lien.

"For you, my dear, it's half off!" she said while only taking half of the money in Oscar's hand. 

"Really?" Oscar asked in disbelief.

"Kindness like that runs in short supply these days, so I like to do what I can to help spread it around!" Persephone explained as she put the money in a seemingly invisible pocket in the folds of her dress, "Now go make your friend happy, and give her the time of her life! Oh, and best of luck to you!"

"Thank you so much!" Oscar's greenish amber eyes beamed. "Have a wonderful day!" Oscar said as he walked away while waving back at her.

"Take care, young Pine Tree!" Persephone called back. She sighed dreamily and rested her her head on the wooden podium next to her cart. "Ah, young love."

* * *

 

 **Chapter 1.5 : Opportunity Knocks**  

 

  _A few hours earlier....._

 

Oscar walked through the bustling city streets of the great kingdom of Mistral, taking in all the sites, sounds, smells, and scenery. Being a farm boy for his entire life, he's never seen anything like this before! ANd just because you got dragged into a dangerous quest to save the world and prevent the destruction of humanity itself by a mysterious body-snatching wizard, doesn't mean you don't get to stop and enjoy life every once in a while. His eyes darted back and forth as he watched all the shopkeepers, seemingly selling everything from food, exotic sweets and candy, to theatre masks, fine clothing, otherworldly textiles, and  exquisitely made weaponry for huntsmen and huntresses of every style, preference, and skill level. Street performers also breathed life everywhere he went in the city! Dancers, actors, singers, sword swallowers, and puppet masters accompanied by talented musicians entertained crowds both large and small, assimilating passers by who's curiosity had gotten the better of them. As Oscar was nearing a street corner, he heard the very loud voice of a very burly man with a large, twisty mustache and bright indigo eyes handing out flyers. As Oscar got closer, he could actually make out what he was saying over the myriad of people hustling about.

"Step right up, step right up! Get your tickets to the Beacon Charity Ball right here! Starts Saturday night at 7! Bring food, clothes, and or medical supplies! All donations, including cash, will go towards the Fall of Beacon victims!" the violet eyed man noticed Oscar as he walked past.

"Hey kid! What's ya name?" he asked in a jolly tone.

"Uh, Oscar." he replied gaurdedly.

"Well, Oscar my name is Oliver! Nice to meet ya!" the indigo eyed man shook Oscar's hand with a vice like grip. "Say, you got anything to do this Saturday night?"

"Not really.." Oscar admitted

"Well then you should come on down to the Beacon Charity Ball! Any and all donations and proceeds are going towards helping the victims and the rebuilding of Vale and Beacon Tower!" Oliver bellowed with excitement for all to hear. "We even take dust! Any form will do for those brave huntresses and huntsman fighting off the Grimm! Here, take a flyer!" Oliver gave him a medium sized leaflet. "All you need to get in is this, and something to donate! Oh, and bring a friend! We need all the help we can get!"

"Uh..ok." was all Oscar could think to say.

"Great!" Oliver clapped him on the back, "Hope to see you there!" 

Oscar waved as he walked past Oliver on his merry way. He looked down at the flyer. Above the written information, an old school sketch of a couple in formal wear dancing inside an ornate boarder in a fancy ballroom took up half of the paper's surface.

"It's good to see people organizing in order to help out those in need on such a large scale." Ozpin echoed in approval.

"Yeah, it really is." Oscar smiled to himself. "There's more to doing good in the world than just being a huntsman and fighting Grimm."

"Agreed. Do you actually...plan on going?" Ozpin asked 

"I mean why not?" Oscar shrugged, "Not like I have anything better to do."

"I would say 'besides training' but after getting your head handed to you by Qrow for the past 3 days, I believe you are deserving of a break. Mainly to heal."

"Ugh, don't remind me." Oscar rolled his eyes, "My knuckles still feel funny." He flexed his fingers and felt a slightly sore tingling sensation.

"So are you planning on 'flying solo' as the kids say these days?" Ozpin asked, trying not to sound as old as he actually was. Bless his immortal heart, he's trying.

"Parties are never that much fun going by yourself."Oscar sounded like he's been there before; alone at a social gathering. 

"Honestly, you're not wrong." Ozpin admitted. "So, who do you plan on asking?"

At first, Oscar's mind went blank. He didn't know anyone of the current crew he was hanging with these days that well, so his options were limited. The suddenly, he got an idea.

 _A golden opportunity!_ He thought.

He knew  _exactly_ who. A certain scythe-wielding huntress in training wearing a blood red riding hood that has been on his mind since was first met with her silver eyes.

* * *

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I haven't written anything in a while. life is crazy, but writer's block is even worse! I know its not a new chapter of Kids of The Future, but honestly, I'm trying to distance myself from the voltron fandom until they learn to be decent human beings. Or at least until going near the fandom on any social media platform doesn't give me anxiety. So I'm branching out into other shows I love and fandoms I'm in! Currently, that's RWBY with the 6th volume currently going on right now with some of the best episodes of the show so far! (*cough cough Hey, Oscar protection squad! Sound off! *cough cough) anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this and we'll see how this goes!


	2. Chapter 2: Popping the Question; (Or At Least Working Up the Courage To)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oscar is just a boy, sitting next to another boy, asking him for advice on asking a girl to a dance.

**Chapter 2: Popping the Question (Or at least Working Up the Courage to)**

 

                                               

* * *

 

 

 

 

After securing the flowers, the next bird of prey on the docket was a nice batch of soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies (a baker's dozen for good measure) Which Oscar had considerably less difficulty finding, due to a stroke of luck leading him to stumble across a street called 'Baker's Row'. Apparently, it was an entire row of the best bakeries and boulangeries in the city. Some had a variety of treats and others specialized in a specific kind weather it be cupcakes or bread. Information relayed to him via Ozpin."Ah,

I remember spending quite a bit of time here, while building Haven." He mused, thinking back to sugary treat filled memories of his past life. "I've lived for countless lifetimes, Oscar. I've seen the world change ten times over, but some things still graciously stay the same."

"Like what?"

"Like how a well baked sugar cookie paired with a biscotti and a soft blueberry muffin are more effective of 12 cups of coffee when you need to pull an all nighter." Ozpin replied, jokingly

Oscar chuckled as he followed the sweet smell of delectable baked goods down the street. And with that, the hunt began. After test tasting at several of the different bakeries, he finally found the perfect cookies at a small bakery smack dab in the middle of Baker's Row named 'Jury Lane Bake Shop'. However, Ozpin never recalled it being there before. And upon entering, test tasting, buying the cookies, and leaving, they found out why. Apparently, the entire place was run by only one person. A girl around Oscar's age with braided powder blue hair, streaked with lavender simply called 'Muffy'. Judging by all the ribbons and trophies displayed in shelves up front, she must be a child baking prodigy.

"It's good to see children your age pursuing their passions with such initiative." Ozpin commented, "Although I am perplexed as to how she was able to bypass the legal system in terms of being old enough to run a shop like that on her own."

Oscar shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe the rules changed since the last time you were here."

"Perhaps.."

 

 

It was close to sundown and about to rain when Oscar reached the house where he was staying with 3/4ths of team RWBY, JNPR, and the intimidating, drunken enigma he had come to know as Qrow Branwen. If he was Yang's Mom's twin brother, he definitely feared what Raven was like if he ever had the misfortune of meeting her face to face. He hoped and prayed that Qrow wouldn't be there when he walked in, or worse, that he was and Ruby was there too. Oscar hasn't known the man for too long, but he gathered that he was especially protective over his younger niece. The more Oscar's mind spiraled down a rabbit hole with thoughts of what could go wrong, the more and more nervous he became. As he neared the front doors, his hands ever so slightly started to shake and his knees began to buckle like he was having an internal 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Ozpin could feel the poor boy's  heartbeat double in pace and his anxiety skyrocket. He took control just long enough to stop Oscar right in front of the door and then back a few feet.

"Just breathe, Oscar" Ozpin said calmly,"In, and out"

Osar took a few deep breaths and steadied himself as he felt his heart rate slowly go back down to a reasonable pace. In and out.

"Oh, who am I kidding? I can't do this!" Oscar said in defeat as he walked over to the wall next to the door and sat against it on the ground.

"Of course you can!" Ozpin encouraged, "I believe in you, at least."

"Thanks, Oz."

"Well, I would tell you that 'If you can fight off Grimm, you can ask a girl to a ball', but fighting and performing an act of kindness for someone you admire are two completely separate things. I should know. I was once in your place, my boy. many eons ago...."

Oscar could feel Ozpin trailing off and slipping away into his own memories of a never forgotten past. images and out of context snippets of a beautiful woman with cornsilk blonde hair and deep turquoise eyes and a kind smile. She was dancing with a dark skinned man with brown wispy hair dressed like a fairytale knight. Oscar had a feeling he knew who the knight was. He wanted to know more, but at the same time, he felt like these memories weren't being shared on purpose. He thought it best to call the body snatching wizard back to reality before he let something slip that  _really_ wasn't meant for Oscar to see.

"...Uh, Oz?" He tried unsurely at first, "Hello...? Remnant to Professor Ozpin!"

"Hm? Oh, yes! Sorry you saw that, Oscar." Ozpin snapped out of his stupor. 

"Let me guess, the one that got away?" 

"Something like that." Oscar detected a bit of remorse in the old man's voice, but decided not to pry any further. "Which brings me to a question I would like to ask you. How  _do_ you feel about....Ms.Rose?"

"Well, you're in  my head, so shouldn't you already know? Oscar asked, trying to dodge the question.

"Personally, I find it exceedingly rude to stick my nose into the thoughts of those I share a body with. Therefore, I do my best not to tread anywhere I feel I shouldn't be in someone else's mind. So no, I don't.

At this, Oscar was pleasantly surprised. "I appreciate that."

He looked up at the sunset sky. Rain clouds were beginning to form and fuse, covering the orange and yellow sky in a fluffy dark purple blanket. He looked on while he took a minute to wrangle his thoughts on the silver eyed scythe wielder that's occupied his thoughts so often lately so that he didn't sound like a rambling idiot. How could he even begin to explain how he felt? It wasn't a full blown crush, that much he knew. He hasn't known her long enough. Not yet, anyway. But still, She's had his curiosity by the hand since the day he met her. As well as his respect and admiration. She had gone through hell, but she's still out here, fighting the good fight with a smile on her face and a persistent hope. Oscar couldn't help but think she was pretty badass for that. This was the girl Ozpin had told him to look for for weeks before he even made it to Mistral. Now he was combat training with her almost every day. And even though she isn't that good at hand to hand yet, she could still sucker punch a small boy, meaning Oscar, very hand in the jaw, if given the opening. A punch that Oscar still felt days afterwards. Bony knuckles can really leave an impression on a guy's face. "How do I explain it?...." he began, "I know it's not a crush because I haven't known her long enough. More like...I want to get to know her better. I want to be her friend. SHe seems like a really cool person and her smile is so...contagious! She just makes a room and everyone in it so much brighter when she walks in! I would like to get to know the person behind that smile."

"Well, I have known Ms.Rose to have quite the magnetic personality," Ozpin commented. "Even when she was still just a student at Beacon. Just like her mother. ......And you think the best way of getting to know her better is asking her to accompany you to a ball? Oscar..." he pried gently, "Are you  _sure_ this isn't about asking Ruby out on a date?"

"Yes!" Oscar responded defensively, "No?....Ugh, I don't know!" Oscar put his head in his hands. "I just want to make her happy. She's got so much to deal with and I feel like she deserves a night off. How is this so hard?!"

Poor Oscar has about had it with the psychoanalysis at this point, when a sudden and very loud thunderclap jolted him out of his thoughts. WHat started out as a few droplets turned into a steady downpour within seconds. Oscar bolted under the awning right in front of the door to keep from getting drenched. 

"I think that's your sign to go in." said Ozpin, hanging high and dry in Oscar's head and out of the rain.

Oscar sighed reluctantly. "It's do or die now, I guess." 

He took a deep breath and used his keye to open the door, careful not to drop the precious cargo he carried with him. When he got in, thankfully, no one was in the room, especially not a certain blonde firecracker and a drunk bird. No one that is, except for a boy with long, feathered, raven black hair with a single hot pink streak standing out in his forelocks sitting on one of the couches.

_Ren._

"Oh!" Ren looked up from the book he was reading, "Hi, Oscar!"

"Hey, Ren." Oscar smiled in relief. Thank the gods, it was the chillest member out of any of the teams that caught him red handed. Well.. _Orange_ handed if you count his farming gloves, which he seemingly never took off. 

"That's a nice bouquet you have there." Ren commented as he took in the sight of a beautiful medium sized bouquet of red Roes in full bloom with happy sunflowers, accented with Baby's Breath. "And...." Ren sniffed the air, "Are those cookies I smell?"

"Yeah." Oscar replied nervously, "Chocolate chip!"

"And who are they for? If you don't mind me asking." Ren asked innocently, not knowing the existential crisis that Oscar had just had right before he came in  regarding that particular subject. "Well..." Oscar had no idea what to say. Should he tell him the truth or lie and just say its for himself? Ren pattet the seat next to him on the couch. Oscar's hand's  _were_ getting pretty tired of carrying the cookies, so he sat them down on the coffee table in front of the couch and took up Ren's offer.

"Let me guess..." he pried gently, "Ruby?"

Oscar sighed reluctantly, "Yeah."

"You're planning on asking her to the Beacon Charity Ball, aren't you?"

"How did you know?!" Oscar kept forgetting how scary accurate Ren's powers of perception were.

He simply just pulled a leaflet for the Ball, identical to Oscar's out of his pocket in response.

"Oh." he let out a nervous giggle. "So...you gonna ask Nora?"

"It would appear so." Ren smiled without making eye contact. 

"But you didn't get any flowers or-"

"Dances mean free food, meaning Nora is already sold." Ren cut him off, "Besides, I know Nora. She doesn't need any flowers or chocolates. She's more of a pancakes and waffles type of girl anyway. I will admit, I'm not that experienced in the romantic department, but I do know how to make an excellent stack of flapjacks."

"Preach." Oscar couldn't agree more. Ren's skills in the kitchen are completely unmatched by anyone he's ever met that was good with a spatula.

Now that Oscar thought about it, he still couldn't figure out how the soft spoken, level headed Ren meshed with the living ball of energy that is Nora. They just kinda did. Like Yin and Yang, they balanced each other. Ren was the calm, but Nora was definitely the storm. 2 opposites that were meant to go together as a whole that was greater than some of its parts, a dynamic duo both on and off the battlefield. 

"But I see  _you're_ going all out." Ren commented as he looked in the direction of the flowers and cookies. "You must really like her a lot to go to all this trouble."

"I just want to do something nice for her and be her friend!" Oscar quickly defended himself, "It's nothing like that! I've only known her for 3 weeks. I would at least want to get to know her before first before I would feel anything like  _that_!"

"Well, at least you're not rushing into it." Ren sounded relieved. 

"How do I ask her, Ren?" Oscar was desperate at this point, "I'm both a nervous and clueless wreck and Ozpin isn't exactly helping."

 _'I heard that'_ Ozpin echoed.

For a minute, Ren looked like he was untangling a math equation, very carefully choosing what to say next.

"...Like I said, I'm not exactly the best in this department either," Ren said at last, " But there is one piece of advice I can give you that I'm somewhat confident in. I know it sounds cheesy, but the best thing you can do is authentically be yourself when you ask her. I know for a fact that no matter what, the someone will always appreciate honesty and authenticity over a fake air. Don't try and act like a Prince Charming, when she knows you're a simple farm boy just doing his best. Otherwise, you'll just look like a royal fool. Besides, I've known Ruby longer than you have. SHe was just as awkward when we first met. SHe's only grown into the person you know her as know through the things she's experienced and the friends she's made along the way. Those that are with her now and those that are....no longer with us.

 _Pyrrha and Penny_  

Oscar thought. Ruby mentioned that Pyrrha was Ren, Nora, and Jaune's teammate back at Beacon, before everything went to hell in a handbag that is. The 'P' in team JNPR. The legendary young aspiring huntress/gladiator that haled from the very kingdom they were in right now. Even on a small farm, miles away from the cities, tales of her amazing feats in tournaments reached his ears of a warrior with blood red hair and big green eyes. He heard she was a pretty nice girl, so he couldn't understand why anyone would want to kill her. And in cold blood, no less. That is, until Ozpin filled him in on the whole story after what Ruby told him that night in the dojo.Still. SHe didn't deserve to die. Even though he's only known most of these people for a little under a month, he could tell that Pyrrha meant a lot to them. To some, more than just a teammate. ANd he noticed that depending on who was in the room when the subject of Pyrrha came up, it either acted as a bonding agent between the 2 team leaders, or a loaded gun between Jaune, Qrow, and Ozpin. Dangerous, within arm's reach, and very easy to fire.

"She's been where you are before." Ren quickly changed the subject back to the topic at hand before Oscar could say anything, "She'll get it."

"Wow...that's actually good advice."  Ren never ceased to amaze Oscar with just how wise he was for his age. Seriously, how does he do that?!  "Thanks, Ren."

"Always happy to help." Ren patted Oscar on the back as he got up from his seat and went into the kitchen to make dinner.

"Good luck!"

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO glad I decided to switch back to hand writing on paper instead of writing the entire rough draft digitally. My thought process just flows so much better when there's a pencil in my hand when it comes to writing, well pretty much anything! This was a completely different chapter before i rewrote it on paper, but anyway, enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3: Actually Popping the Question

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oscar Pine as The Repressed Nerd
> 
> Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren as the Ultimate Wingmen
> 
> Ruby Rose as Herself

**Chapter 3: Actually Popping The Question**

 

* * *

 

As soon as Ren was out of sight, of course the one person Oscar was hoping wouldn't walk in, walks in.

_Ruby_

Oscar jumped up from his seat. It was too late to try and hide the flowers or the cookies and doing it n front of Ruby would just make him look suspicious and stupid. The way he saw it, he was caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar with no way out except to do or die.

 _It's now or never, I guess._ Oscar thought.

"Break a leg." Ozpin encouraged.

Oscar took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. "Hi, Ruby!" he greeted her with a smile, trying not to sound as nervous as he actually was.

"Oh! Hey, Oscar!" Ruby smiled back.

Before Oscar could say anything else, he noticed Ruby's silver eyes caught the sight of a beautiful bouquet of red Roses in full bloom, paired with Sunflowers and Baby's Breath and a suspiciously delicious smelling white box sitting next to it on the coffee table. She let out a small gasp as her eyes widened in excitement like a shutter on a camera lense. Within milliseconds, she was already across the room with a trail of rose petals floating in the air behind her, inspecting the box before Oscar could even blink. He keeps forgetting that her semblance is speed.

"Are these chocolate chip cookies?!" She asked in anticipation

"Uh, yeah!" Oscar replied, "They're for you! The flowers too."

"SWEET!" Ruby cheered as she took a pair of chocolate chip cookies bigger than her hand, one in each, but before she could take a bite out of the cookie in her left a thought crossed her mind. "Waaaait. Who are these even from?" She eyed the treats suspiciously as she lowered them away from her face. Given the horrific  things the poor girl had since in just the past 6 months alone, poisoned food from another person out to kill her that she didn't know wasn't so far off her paranoia radar anymore, much to her dismay.

"Uh...." Oscar rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly."That would be me."

Ruby just kinda stood there for a minute, not really sure what to say. Her initial look of slight shock and surprise then melted into a kind smile. Oscar was terrified that his heart might stop beating, but instead, he felt a sense of ease wash over him. He noticed that Ruby sometimes had that effect on people. How could she not with her caring nature-

_Oscar, it together!_

Not again. he has got to stop with these mental tangents on Ruby.

"Aw, Oscar! That's really sweet of you!" Ruby went over to wrap the boy in a big hug.

"Ah, well..I try." was all Oscar managed to choke out as he felt soft, white, puffy sleeves with hard, black leather bracers wrapped him n a rose scented embrace.

 _Wow. she even /smells/ like roses! What the heck?!_ He made a mental note. She did indeed smell like her namesake flower, but also something else....dust powder? Gunmetal? Both; probably both. At first, Oscar didn't know where to put his hands to return the hug , so he chose the least awkward option and put them around her back and on top of her cloak. Her embrace was a comforting one. The longer the hug went on, he felt more...at peace, maybe? Like everything was going to be ok. Or maybe that was just the aura of sheer positivity she gave off messing with his head. Still, she was having a certain effect on him. He just couldn't pinpoint what kind. He couldn'thel but feel a twinge of disappointment as she let go. Oscar could feel his anxiety starting to escalate back up again, but he steeled himself. Now was his chance.

_Put up, or shut up._

"Uh...Ruby?"

"Hm?" she looked at hm attentively. 

Maybe it was his anxiety talking, but he swore in that moment it was like her mirrored eyes unintentionally bored into his soul.

"Well..." he pulled out the leaflet out of his pocket he was given earlier by Oliver. "There's a charity ball this Saturday. Its a charity ball to raise funds and donations to rebuild Vale and Beacon." He handed it to Ruby, trying to keep his hand from shaking. He watched as she scanned the paper. He couldn't read the expression on her face, which terrified him. "And I was wondering if...maybe...what I'm trying to ask is...would you go with me?

 _"Smooth, Pine."_ Oscar thought to himself.  _"Real smooth."_

At first, Ruby didn't know how to respond. Was Oscar asking her out on a date? This has never happened to her before! What should she do? Say yes? But she barely knew him! Should she think about it?

 _"Well, say something! Don't leave him hanging!"_ she panicked for a second.

"Wow, Oscar. That sounds fun, but..." She started to let him down gently, "I'm not that great at parties. I'm pretty much a wallflower. Heck, I don't even know how to dance."

"Oh! What a coincidence!" Oscar's eyes widened

"Huh?" Ruby looked at him confusedly.

"I can't dance either! Most I can do is the Robot." Oscar jerked his arms around stiffly as he tried to do the only dance move he knew. And to his surprise, it actually made Ruby laugh! Her button nose crinkled and her silver eyes squinted as an impish, child-like giggle escaped her lips. Oscar couldn't help but laugh, too. He probably looked like a dork, but at least it was making her smile and that had to count for something.

"Well, that makes me feel a little better." Said Ruby after catching her breath.

"Well in that case, how about we go and be socially awkward wallflowers together?" Oscar proposed as he took a rose from the bouquet. "What do you say, Ms.Rose?" He bowed as he offered her the rose with a small smirk and locking eyes with her, trying to sound more suave than he actually was.

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Eh, well when you put it that way....." Oscar held his breath as this girl unintentionally held his fate as well as his heart in her hands.

"Why not? Besides, its not like I have anything better to do."

Oscar smiled and his heart soared as Ruby gently took the rose from his hand. However before he could say anything in response, both kids were startled by a roar of approval from the familiar voice of a certain ginger lightning rod.

"YES!" Nora cheered from behind the kitchen screen door, followed by more shouts as Ren and Nora tripped and toppled over each other as they fell onto the hardwood floor. Oscar and Ruby almost jumped out of their skins and turned towards the dynamic duo piled on the floor.

"NORA!" They yelled in unison. Suddenly Oscar noticed Ren was there too; mercilessly pinned under the weight of his girlfriend.

"You too, Ren?!" He exclaimed, "Have you been eavesdropping on us the whole time?!"

"Hey, leave my boyfriend out of this!" Nora retorted as she jumped up and dusted herself off. "I was just coming out to get a snack when  _I_ overheard you asking our fearless leader out on a date!"

"It's not a date!" Oscar spat in defense.

"Wait, it isn't?" Ruby looked at him confused.

"No...I mean,...not unless you want it to be. I just wanted a chance to hang out with you and be your friend and not just knock each other senseless during training." Oscar could feel the nerves in his freckled cheeks tingle as the turned pink. Thankfully, his slight sunburn under the freckles kept it hidden.

"I'm sorry, Oscar." Ren piped up as he picked himself off the floor, "I tried to stop her."

"Sure. _Tooootally_ not a date!" Nora rolled her bright blue eyes and put her hands on her hips. "You got Ruby a bouquet of her favorite flower, in her favorite color, and a box of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, all to ask her to the charity shindig? Sounds like a date to me!"

Oscar growled in frustration, "I just wanted to do something nice for Ruby!" He pouted as his face began to turn pinker. Ruby couldn't deny he looked kinda cute when he pouted, but someone had to draw the line.

Knock it off, Nora! You're embarrassing him!" Ruby put a hand on his shoulder and looked at him. "Let her believe what she wants, Oscar. Besides, even if it were a date, I'd be glad it would be with you and not some rando." She gave him a kind and reassuring smile.

"Really?" He looked at her with wide green-amber eyes in surprise. Did he hear her right? Would she actually be ok with going on a date? With  _him_?! Ruby was only 2 years older, but so much cooler than him, not to mention a whole head taller and a grade-A badass if he's ever met one. Surely she had other admirers worshipping the Grimm she slayed back at Beacon, but she actually thought him worthy? What kind of alternate universe was he living in!

"Really." Ruby replied with certainty. "But don't get too cocky just because I said yes, Pine!" She ruffled his windswept black hair and went to reclaim her seat on the couch, "Now if you excuse me, I have an actual date with those cookies!"

But before she sat back down, a light bulb sparked to life in her head. "WAIT!" she exclaimed, "Milk! I can't have cookies this delicious without warm milk!" Ruby made a mad dash into the kitchen past Nora and Ren shouting "Honestly, what am I doing with my life?!"

Oscar couldn't help but laugh; Ren and Nora, too. Man, she sure was something. One minute, she's a team leader and a horrifyingly deadly huntress that others would follow to the ends of the earth and the next, she kept everyone in stitches with her goofyness and her bubbly personality. How does she do it?! 

Soon, Ruby was back with a nice tall glass on warm milk and speed walking towards the couch; eyeing the cookies with ravenous intent.

"Ren, I think the pancakes are burning." Nora looked at her boyfriend, her eyes darting towards the kitchen then back to him.

"Uh, I don't have to flip them for another-"

Nora cut him off with a soft jab to the gut.

"Oh.." Ren's electric pink eyes grew wide as he got the hint. "Looks like I set the timer on my scroll wrong. I better go check them."

Soon Ren and Nora were out of sight and back in the kitchen, thankfully not within hearing distance.

"Sorry about that." Ruby said through cheeks stuffed full of cookie. "Nora can be a bit-"

"Nosy?" Oscar suggested.

"I was gonna say excitable, but that works too." She took another cookie from the box and offered it to Oscar. "Cookie?"

"Thanks, but I'm good." he declined, "I already had at least ten of them at the bakeries today. If I have one more, I don't think I'll be able to eat dinner."

"Oh, ok! More for me then!" 

Oscar watched as the girl chowed down on her sugary feast like she hadn't eaten in a week. And then he noticed she had a single red rose perched in her forelock. The rose that he gave her. She must have put it in her hair while she was in the kitchen in order to get the milk. Oscar's heart skipped. He would never say it out loud, but he thought Ruby looked the prettiest when she was happy. Now here she was, munching down cookies, wiggling with joy, a smile from ear to ear, and her namesake flower in her hair like it was meant to be there. And just for a moment, he wondered how she would look, wearing an entire crown of them.

That is until Ozpin wordlessly snapped him out of it. 

He shouldn't be thinking about Ruby like that. He wanted to be her friend. Get to know the amazing person she appeared to be. Besides, even if he felt that way, with Ozpin complicating things, it would never work. That is unless Salem is defeated. So not all hope would be lost. But that's hypothetically speaking of course. Oscar didn't feel that way about her. At least he thinks he doesn't.....does he?

He shook the thoughts away to be dealt with later and he and Ruby went on talking to each other about their day and the colorful people Oscar met on his quest. However he took care to make no mention of the close call he had with a particular flower arrangement he almost bought instead of the one he went with. Ruby listened intently as she munched on her treats while the be-freckled boy with green, honey-centered eyes described in fantastic detail the magical place that is 'Baker's Row.' She made a mental note to go there before she left Mistral. They went on like that, talking and laughing together until Nora called for dinner. Loud enough for the whole house and half the kingdom to hear, of course. As they ate, Oscar was surprised that the cookies didn't ruin the red goth girl's appetite. She downed pretty much her entire meal with just as much gusto. After everyone was full on a freshly cooked by the amazing god-like Chef Ren, They all decided to hit the hay for the night and let their food comas carry them off to peaceful dreamless sleep. As Oscar laid in bed that night, patiently waiting to drift off, he realized that he was going to have to fight a completely different battle tomorrow.

What in the world was he gonna wear?!

* * *

 


	4. Chapter 4: Fashion Wars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turns out finding the perfect outfit is harder than slaying Grimm.

**Chapter 4: Fashion Wars**

* * *

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Weiss scoffed as she stomped her wedged heel in outrage. SHou could not BELIEVE her best friend and teammate planned on going to a ball just wearing 'what she already had on'! She couldn't be serious, right? She simply  _had_ to be joking!

"Well it's not like I packed any ballgowns with me when I left home!" Ruby retorted.

"True." Weiss admitted, "But I'm here now, so that's no longer a valid excuse! I'm taking you to get something suitable today. No objections!"

"But-" Ruby tried to argue.

"And no buts!" Weiss cut her off as she grabbed Ruby by the wrist and started to march towards the door. "I refuse to let you be a walking fashion disaster! Not while I can do something about it."

"But wait! You don't have any money with you!" Ruby protested in a panic, "Didn't your Dad cut you off?"

Weiss let go of Ruby's hand and turned around to face her. "Yes, he did." she replied blankly. "However, Kelin wouldn't hear of me leaving without money in case something happened, so he made me this!" 

Weiss pulled out from her white wrap belt a powder blue plastic card with nothing on it ,but the signature white Schnee Dust Company snowflake printed on it in perfect symmetry. Ruby looked at it in confusion. It couldn't be a credit card, right? There aren't any numbers on it. Not even a name.

"I can assure you, this  _is_ a credit card." Weiss seemed to have read her mind. "But if it were a normal one, my Father would find out exactly where I am the second it got swiped. This little guy gives me access to all the family money, but no one would know it was ever taken out of the bank!"

"Oh, cool!" Ruby's eyes widened, "So it's a Ghost Card!" 

"Huh. I never thought about it that way, but I guess you could call it that." 

"Wait, who's Klein?"

Oh yeah.

Weiss completely forgot. She usually NEVER spoke about her family with her friends or teammates, that is until recently. For now, only Yang knew that her home life wasn't all Money Bags and Gucci Shades. SHe promised herself that she would tell Blake and Ruby eventually and start opening up more to her team. Afterall, they were her family now. More so than her biological one. But for now, Weiss thought it best to let Ruby down gently by just telling her bits and pieces. SHe's got enough on her plate to worry about already.

"Klein is...the family butler." She said at last. 

"Oh, you mean the legendary Cake Butler?" Ruby asked excitedly.

"Oh, no. Klein is the Head Butler! He's in charge of all the other butlers including the Cake Butler."

" _Ooooh!_ Got it." Ruby nodded her head

"And he's been more of a Father to me than my real one."

Ruby saw Weiss grow sad as she looked at the card, remembering the only other person in the household that showed her any sort of genuine human decency besides Winter. It was then that Ruby decided that if getting her a pretty dress would make Weiss happy, she would gladly suck it up and deal with it.

"Come on, Weiss." Ruby gently took her hand, shaking Weiss out of her thoughts, "We better get going before all the good dresses get cleaned out."

 

And so their quest began.

Weiss had actually been to Mistral a few times before so she at least knew where she was going. She remembered one time while in the city on a business trip with her Dad, she wanted to get a souvenir for Winter's birthday present and found a dress at a shop that practically  _screamed_ her sister's name! Maybe that shop was in the fashion district they were looking for? She wasn't entirely sure, but she knew how she got to the shop last time, so it was a start. 

When the duo arrived, it became apparent that Weiss was right. Standing before them was the grand and legendary Mistral Fashion District. The happy goth chick and the snow white heiress were almost overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stores! Colorfully painted wooden stands stood with full on buildings and even small pagodas! Some shops had a little bit of everything while others specialized in certain things such as dresses and hats and such.And of course, you have your jewelry stores, shoe shops and even a haberdashery or two. The buildings were for the more established and popular stores while the stands were built and run by the people who actually hand made the clothes themselves. Ruby and Weiss looked at each other as if they were thinking the same thing. They certainly had their work cut out for them it seemed.

"Let's do this." Weiss said with determination as she grabbed Ruby's hand again and raced off to the first shop they saw.

* * *

_Meanwhile....._

 

Oscar was officially in Panic Mode. He had no idea what he was going to wear, he didn't have any money to get anything to wear, and the Ball is tomorrow night! He was up a creek without a paddle all over again.

"Oh come now, Oscar. It's not that bad!" Ozpin was definitely not helping

"Are you kidding me? I can't take Ruby looking like this! Oscar gestured towards his outfit. "I don't think 'Farmhand Contemporary' is in this season!"

The two went back and forth like that for a while as Oscar traversed the city streets trying to think of a way to aqoir something at least somewhat presentable.

"I don't know what else to do!" Oscar sighed, exasperated. "It's not like a solution is going to come falling out of the sky!"

Suddenly, the boy was startled by the yell of a very loud woman and the force of a large man wearing a white bandana and a blue coat pushing past him, running at top speed and clutching a metal box as he ran.

"STOP! THIEF!"

Then Oscar recognized the voice. The same voice of the nice pink haired lady at the flower cart!

_Persephone_

With that, Oscar wasted no time darting after the thief, unhitching the handle of Ozpin's cane from his belt loop and pressing the lever. His weapon of not-so-much-choice extended just in time for the farmboy to catch up with the perpand whack him really hard at the ankles, causing him to trip and send the suitcase flying. Oscar took the opportunity to go for the case as he made a mad dash ahead of the thief.  He grabbed onto the case and used his patchwork handkerchief hanging in his pocket to secure the case to his belt loop by its handle and started running back full speed towards the criminal.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Ozpin asked as his young vessel ran head first into battle.

"Nope!"

Oscar could feel Ozpin's eyes roll as his exasperated sigh echoed in his mind and he shook his head. "Want me to step in?"

"No harm in helping!"

The old wizard took that as a yes and suddenly with a yellow flash of Oscar's green and amber eyes, Ozpin was in control and had come face to face with the thief. A gangly, 6 foot tall man in a dirty white bandana and a long blue coat. The man's eyes were tattooed with electric blue flames coming off the corners and reaching to the sides of his head. Before he could say anything to the small punk thinking he's crazy enough to stop him, Ozpin immediately went to work, hitting the guy in rapid succession with the end of his cane . While the thief was a little more than disoriented by a well placed whack to the face, Oz jumped and twisted his momentum in a roundhouse kick. The soul of Oscar's combat boot made contact with the face of the thief,knocking out two of his teeth as he fell to the ground crumpled in pain.

"That's what you get for taking something that doesn't belong to you." Was all Ozpin said to the thief before he relinquished control back over to Oscar.

Once he got his bearings, Oscar looked around for Persephone through the small crowd that gathered after witnessing a small farm boy literally kick the teeth out of a grown man 3 times his size. Her bright pink hair was not that hard to spot a few people back, so he made his way towards her as a pair of Mistral Police officers  came and cuffed the thief to drag him off to the slammer. Persephone watched as she saw the familiar face of a tan boy with slightly sunburned freckled cheeks made his way past a few people. And on his belt loop, tied with a patchwork scrap of fabric at the handle, was her suitcase.

"Pine tree!"

She couldn't believe it!

Oscar untied the case from the fabric and handed it to her.

"I believe this is yours." he said as Persephone took the case and swept him up in a Wysteria scented embrace. 

"Oh, thank you so much! You are a life-saver, my dear!"

"No problem." Oscar replied as she let go, "I couldn't just sit by and do nothing. What's in there anyway?"

"It's what I keep my money from the shop in. I was just on my way to put it in the bank for safe keeping!" Persephone explained, "Why don't you come with me? Let me buy you lunch, its the least i could do."

"Oh, I couldn't do that," Oscar wasn't sure how to decline,"Doing the right thing is its own reward."

She smiled. It honestly warmed her heart hearing someone doing good without an ulterior motive for once.

"Well then at least walk with me. Just in case someone else tries any funny business."

"Alright then." Oscar replied as he took to walking right next to the suitcase to better guard it.

So they walked through the streets together like that towards the bank when Persephone suddenly remembered something. 

"So!" she began, "How did it go with your friend? Did she say yes? You're taking her to the Beacon Charity Ball, right?"

"Oh! Uh...surprisingly yes, yes she did!" Oscar replied cheerfully.

"That's wonderful!" The lady of the flowers clasped her hands together."I bet you two will be the most adorable and best looking pair on the dance floor!"

Oscar rubbed the back of his neck and smiled nervously. Persephone's smile in turn, melted into a look of concern.

"Oscar..." She asked gently, "Do you have anything to wear to the Ball?"

"Well...no, not really." Oscar admitted truthfully and regrettably. "I was walking around trying to figure out what to do about that. I didn't leave home with that much money and I not from anywhere near Mistral. And I kinda spent the last of it on the flowers and some cookies."

"Well then that settles it! Persephone nodded, determination bubbling in her gold ichor colored eyes, "I'm helping you out! Again!"

"You really don't have to do that!" Oscar was not about to use doing the right thing as a bargaining chip. NO WAY. 

"I know!" Persephone replied cheerfully, "But I want to! Besides, my husband and I are going too and his favorite tie got destroyed on his last mission, so I need to find him a new one."

After taking a few seconds to think about it, it's not like had any other options, so he might as well take the hand he was dealt.

"Oh, ok then!" was all Oscar could think of to say.

"Excellent! Persephone twirled around in excitement as she took the farm boy by the hand and bolted down the street; right past the bank and towards the fashion district.

"Don't worry about the bank, we're gonna need this." She patted the lid of the case now hooked to her wait via a gold chain she used as a belt.

Oscar thought to himself and wondered. What did he just get himself into?

* * *

 

 

Ruby and Weiss decided the best course of action would be to divide and conquer; Check the more established shops first and then move on to the stands.Unfortunately, Ruby wasn't really finding anything that  _screamed_ at her. She was trying her best not to be picky, but none of the dresses they've seen so far had captured her fancy. Apparently, Weiss couldn't agree more. Since it was Spring in Mistral (and in that particular part of Anima in general) Red wasn't in this season, so all they've been able to find so far were pastels. Weiss was never the kind of girl to obsess over fashion, but she knew one thing for sure. Her best friend, Ruby Rose, was  _SO_ not a pastel kinda girl. Her best friend was a hardcore goth and she was not about to put her in a color scheme she wasn't comfortable with. However neither of them were ready to give up hope yet. With every place they struck out on, Weiss became more hellbound and determined to find something that Ruby would like. They walked out of another high end store, empty handed. The 5th one in the past 2 hours.

"Ugh, honestly! Red is a multi seasonal color! it's not just for Fall, you know!" Weiss ranted.

Ruby looked at her with guilt. "Well maybe the stands have something?" Ruby suggested, "You said they're run by the people that make the clothes right? Maybe they get to make whatever they want, so maybe they don't follow the trends! We could have a better chance if we look there." She pointed towards a particular stand she's had on her radar since they arrived. A rikity wooden stand with bright a red and dark red vertical striped scalloped awning. A wooden sign nailed to one of the support beams read "Amara" painted in fancy pearl white letters. Ruby didn't know why or what, but something was drawing her there. It could just be the beautiful silks shimmering in the sunlight talking, but her curiosity was nagging at her simply too much to be ignored. Weiss and Ruby looked at each other and shrugged as they made their way over to the unassuming shop. As they got closer, it became apparent that seemingly no one was on the inside holding down the fort.

"Maybe the owner is on break?" Weiss suggested.

"If they were, don't you think they would have left out a sign or had someone else watch it while they were gone? Ruby looked around the vicinity of the stand for anyone that might look like the owner. No one else except for her and the heiress. "Let's just look around at the stuff here. Their things will be safer with us here until they get back. Besides, i might find something before then and it will be less of a hassle for them."

"Very well then." Weiss kept her hand on Myrtenaster's pummel just in case as they came close enough to the front of the staand to start looking around. 

Suddenly, a bone chilling voice came from the inside of the booth. Spindly, and almost a whisper. 

"Why hello, children."

Cold water ran down their spines as they looked up from the jewelry to find not one, but 2 sets of 3 red eyes like beads of blood appear from the shadows of the inside of the stand.

"Oh...uh hello." Ruby tried her best to not look terrified as a woman stepped towards them from inside. She had almond skin, her arms covered in remnants of silk fibers. Her hair was long and silvery white. Her forelocks were braided on either side of her head in intricate plates, held together by tiny onyx beads at the ends. She also had very long and bony fingers and sharp nails painted silver. They almost looked like tiny knife blades.

"A-are you the owner of the stand?" Ruby asked

"That, I am!" The woman sounded friendly despite her appearance. "Amara Arachne is myname, and making fine clothing is my game! I even weave the fabric I make the garments with myself! " She looked around at her wares with pride. And she had every right to do so. 

Each and every garment was made of a fine silk in more colors than Ruby or Weiss knew existed! Some had elaborate patterns embroidered on them or delicate beading in a few places. A Cyan blue kimono with lavender hummingbirds flitting about on the fabric billowed gently in the afternoon breeze on one side of the stand, and a canary yellow gown with a pleated high-low skirt with a lavender belt tied into a bow in the back almost glowed in the sunlight on the other side. It kind of reminded Ruby of her sister. Meanwhile, Weiss was already enraptured with a powder blue mermaid dress with shattered glass patterns embroidered in pure white all the way up and down one side and traveling towards the center of the sweetheart neckline. She gently held the fabric like it was going to turn to dust at any moment in awe.

"The craftsmanship is incredible!" Weiss was floored by the sheer beauty of the dress she held in her hand. Truly a wearable work of art.

"Why thank you,...Ms.Schnee."

Oh no. 

Alarm bells started going off in her head. What gave her away? Was it her hair? her outfit? The scar? Oh wait. Suddenly Weiss remembered the giant white unmistakable snowflake embroidered very obviously on the back of her jacket. Of course that would be a dead giveaway. She never packed a change of clothes before she left. All she took with her when she busted herself out of the manor was Myrtenaster and a decent amount of dust.

"Oh don't worry dear, I'm no snitch." Amara assured her. 

"But....you-"

"Are a faunus?" Amara cut her off. "That I am as well. And I most certainly don't approve the way your Father treats my people. However, I think it ridiculous to blame a child for the sins of her father. Besides. You seem like a nice girl, Or at least that's what my dear niece told me in her letters."

"Wait, what?" Both girls were a mixture of both shocked and confused. 

"You're Blake's Aunt?" Ruby asked.

"Who?" Amara looked at them like they were crazy. As if the name Blake was a foreign word to her.

"Blake Belladonna?" said Weiss, "Black hair, cat ears?"

"Oh, yes! Blake! My niece told me about her too! A nice soft-spoken Panther faunus. It was so nice to see her finally making friends." Suddenly, the light in Amara's ruby eyes dimmed and her smile dropped. Like she remembered something she didn't want to.

"Wait. If Blake isn't your niece, then who is?" Weiss was getting annoyed with the guessing game already.

".....Was." Amara sounded remorseful. 

Weiss guessed that she must have lost her niece in the Fall of Beacon, but chose not to say anything to cut her off in order not to be disrespectful.

"I'm surprised you didn't already know me when you came here. I guess she never mentioned me."

"Was your niece by any chance Pyrrha Nikos?" Ruby asked, trying to keep her voice from faltering.

a silence that felt like forever hung in the air as Amara looked at the two girls standing in front of her. A Rose with silver eyes and an Ice Queen with hair as white as snow. 2 girls her beloved warrior niece had wrote to her about so excitedly, for she had finally made real friends, including her teammates that actually treated her like a regular person and not some kind of warrior goddess like they would have here in Mistral, had she chose to go to Haven instead. The spider woman was a little saddened to hear the news that Pyrrha wouldn't be living with her in Mistral while she attended, but at the same time she understood why she made her choice. Pyrrha wanted to go someplace new. Where people wouldn't worship the ground she walked on, but not even talk to her out of fear or intimidation. She only heard about her new friends through written word and was sent a picture of team RWBY and JNPR together but now, seeing two of them in person,it felt like her little warrior was there with her again, even if only in spirit through her friends. A small relief she took in with glee.

"Yes.....she was." Amara said at last. "A brave little warrior from the very beginning."

Amara went to take something off the side wall of the inside of the booth and came back. She held out in her clawed hand a picture of her and a little ten year old Pyrrha posing fo a picture in front of Amara's booth when it was in a slightly newer condition. Pyrrha was unmistakable of course. Her deep red hair in her signature ponytail and a smaller and more simpler version of her god circlet. no gold chains with green jewels on the side. just a simple gold crown that dove into a V shape in the front. Her emerald green eyes were vibrant and so full of life. Not much different than the Pyrrha Nikos that Ruby and Weiss knew at Beacon. Weiss turned to look at Ruby. She didn't say anything. She just smiled sadly as tears formed in her eyes.

"I remember she would come visit me every summer and guard my shop. She'd obliterate anyone who even dared to try and steal from me. And don't even get me started on what she would do to the Faunus haters that came my way. Hoo boi, she'd teach em'!" Amara couldn't help but laugh. She knew her Niece  was a good and kind hearted girl and gentle as an autumn breeze, but she struck fear into the hearts of all who would dare do wrong in front of her. Especially when it came to her friends and family. Sometimes she would handle it with class and verbal savagery like the lady she was, other times it would be a good swift ass-kicking, no mercy involved.

"She was really something, huh?" Weiss looked at the photo. She suddenly regretted not spending more time with her. Then again, she did try to get on a team with her on orientation day, but that didn't end up working out. Still, she wouldn't trade the team she was already on for anything in the world. She just wished her team and JNPR were able to hang out more back then. But as the cruel fates would have it, that didn't end up being the case.

"....I know you were with her in her final moments." Ruby looked up from the picture to find that Amara had come out of the booth and was standing next to her.

"And I know you tried your best to save her." the 6 foot tall mourning spider gently took ruby's hands in hers. "But you must not blame yourself for not being able to get to her in time, my dear. None of this was your fault. My-...Pyrrha made her choice. And the bitch that killed her made her choice as well. I don't think Pyrrha would regret the choice she made. Because I know that she was the only one that could try and maybe succeed if the gods were on her side. The fact that  the odds were against you, but you tried to save her anyway, says a lot about you."

It was then than Ruby broke down. She couldn't hold in the tears anymore. The dam inside her broke as she quietly began to cry. Amara was quick to take the sobbing girl in her ams and hug her. She gently stroked the back of her head with her clawed fingers. "I'm so sorry." Ruby sobbed. "I'm so sorry." 

"Shhh. It's alright, child." Amara comforted. Weiss joined in hugging Ruby from behind. She couldn't bear seeing her friend like this and not being able to help in some way.

"Your only crime is that you blame yourself. I'll tell you until it sinks in, none of what happened is your fault."

Ruby had no idea how badly she needed to hear that until she heard it strait from someone who was related to Pyrrha. Not her friends, her teammates, or even Professor Ozpin, but someone who had known Pyrrha her entire life. Who saw her grow and become the person Ruby came to know when she was lucky enough to be let into Beacon 2 years ahead of those her age. All the pain she was harboring was somewhat lightened when she was told that this girl's family didn't blame her for not being able to save their only daughter from her tragic demise."

Ruby let go of the woman and wiped her tears away. "Thank you." Her voice quivered."I..didn't know how much I needed to hear that."

"I hate to interrupt, but how did you know about this?" Asked Weiss after she let go of Ruby in turn, "I mean...you know."

"Ah,a dusty old Qrow came as a messenger 3 days after the fall. He told me what happened and to be on the lookout for a little girl in a red hood. She had the misfortune of witnessing my Pyrrha's end."

"That was my Uncle." Ruby sniffled. Weiss handed her a hankie she kept in her dress pocket. 

"That explains it. What was your name again, my dear? I have such a hard time keeping up with those these days."

"Ruby." She replied, "Ruby Rose."

"Ah, Ruby. Yes now I remember! Such a lovely name for a lovely girl."

"Oh, uh thank you." Ruby smiled shyly.

Suddenly the light came back to Amara's eyes, as if a spark was lit in a fireplace

"And a lovely girl like you deserves an equally lovely dress! Come with me!" She took a sign that said "Closed' from her pocket and placed it on the table then took Ruby by the hand and started walking down the street. Weiss caught on and quickly caught up despite wearing very high-wedged heels.

"Where are we going?" Weiss asked, trying to keep up.

"To my home studio!" Amarra called back, "This calls for something special!You need a dress for the Ball tomorrow night I'm guessing?"

"How did you-" Ruby was starting to get a little spooked at how perceptive this lady was.

"You are definitely not the first person to have come by looking for one you know, but You are a unique case!"

When Amara stopped, she stopped in front of a rather large pagoda with a red spider emblazoned with a silver hourglass on the abdomen adorned a plaque next to the front door.

"We're here!" She sang.

"Nice place you got!" Ruby said wide eyed looking at the surprisingly lavish house this lady happened to won. Weiss however, didn't bat an eye. With the quality of her garments, she wouldn't be surprised if they sold for her weight in gold.

"It's not much, but its home!" Amara lead them through the front door and stepped into the foyer. Despite its outward appearance, the place actually looked quite cosy. Large lace doilies covered every table while vintage lamps emitted a soft yellow glow in the living room. Pictures in frames of friends and family hung up on every wall. Upon closer inspection, the girls noticed that there were silk fibers floating and hanging from the ceiling and in corners of doorways. Moving ever so slightly thanks to the breeze coming from the A.C. And in the corner, Ruby saw a very large wooden loom. It looked like Amara stopped using it right in the middle of a project. The silk appeared to be gold, or maybe that was just the yellow light from the lamps talking. However she could definitely see a pattern beginning to take the shape of a dragon.

"Right up here, darlings!" She directed them towards the stair that lead up to the second floor, also draped with silk fibers all the way up the rail. Weiss noticed upon closer inspection that even the beams holding up the rails were carved with a spiderweb pattern. 

"But wait, isn't your loom right there?" Ruby asked.

"That's only  _one_ of my looms! And a much smaller one than that. Besides the studio is upstairs!"

Amara lead them up the stairs to a very wide and spacious room. Ruby and Weiss just stared in amazement while Amara just looked smug. 

"Welcome, children!" She twirled around in front of them and held her arms out wide. "To my studio! Where I make everything you saw in my humble shop!"

"It huge!" Ruby had to look from left to right in order to take it in. The room was probably the size of 3 two-car garages with deep red walls and burgundy crown molding along the bottom. 2 large windows let in the warm sunlight from outside, providing excellent natural lighting. A large round rug in the center of the room was emblazoned with the same spider they saw on the front of the house, but this one was black with a red hourglass. On one side of the room, huge wooden shelves reached all the way to the ceiling 20 feet up, holding all manner of supplies from ribbon on a rack organized in rainbow order to various trims, beads, charms, pendants, and rhinestones to sew onto garments. Next to the shelves were baskets filled with bolt after bolt after bolt of fabric she must have woven in advance. and A LOT of it. SHe must have had a bolt made in every color! On the other side of the room was a really long table used for cutting fabric. A peg board on the wall housed tools like scissors, pizza cutters (or at least that's what they looked like to Ruby) , measuring tape, and tools ruby had no idea what purpose they served. In front og the table was a chair and one GIANT wooden loom that seemed to reach just below the ceiling by about 5 feet. Ruby guessed it's what she must use for making the bolts of fabric she had in the baskets.

"Need a big space to hold a lot of creativity!" Amara 

"Waaait. Are you making me a dress?...from _scratch?"_ Ruby asked.

"Why of course, dear!" Amara responded cheerfully, "It's the least I could do for some of the people that gave my little amazon true friendship!"

"Oh, wow! that's really nice of you, Ms. Arachne. Thank you!" Ruby genuinely didn't know what to say other than that. These past few days, she's been shown more kindness than she felt she deserved. First Oscar and now this. She never expected for good to come back to her just for being a good person like you're supposed to be. But then again, here she was. 

"Oh, don't worry." Weiss went fumbling for her card in one of her dress pockets, "I got it covered Ms. Arachne."

"Oh don't even worry about it, Snowflake. This one's on the house!"

Weiss and Ruby's jaws dropped. Dd they hear her right?

"Are you su-"

"Oh of course I'm sure! And I won't hear any objections! You ladies have been through hell and back and it's time some good started coming back your way!"

Amara used one of the silk fibers hanging from the raptors to swing herself over to her cutting table and snatched her measuring tape off its peg as she swung back around to Ruby and stuck the landing.

"Now hold still!"

Ruby did her best T-pose as Amara went to work taking the little red's measurements.

* * *

 

Meanwhile a shopping trip with much less of an emotional crisis was going on back in the fashion district with a little farm boy, and a pink haired flower goddess.  
Persephone thought it would be a great idea to take the boy to the same place where her dear old husband got his suits tailor made. Thankfully, her judgement was right. Alexandria McQueen was a woman of many talents, but her main passion was making high-end formal wear! Renowned across Remnant for tailoring to each client's specific aesthetics, no two garments she has ever made came out exactly alike. When Persephone brought in this little country boy, she saw the look in his eyes as he glanced around her palace of high fashion. She's seen the look plenty of times before, a boy wanting to impress a girl by dressing as outlandishly dapper as possible. But she could tell something was different about this boy in particular. She just couldn't put her finger on it yet.

"Ah, so  _this_ is the boy,yes? Persey told me she helped a sweet farm boy the other day. Oscar, yes?" Her voice came out in a very posh accent. She definitely sounded like a rich person. Well, to Oscar she did anyway.

"Yeah, nice to meet you." Oscar put out his hand. 

The designer took it in a surprisingly strong grip. "Well well, he has manners! I like him already, Persey!"

"I knew you would! Now I already told you what he needs over text so -"

"Yes ,yes we must get started right away!" Alex cut Persephone off as she took Oscar's hand and dashed towards the back of the shop where a large workroom filled with fabric and tools and dressforms of all shapes and sizes were scattered about. Not anywhere near as organized as Amara's studio. Oscar was put on top of a round platform as Alex began to measure him. This was happening a lot faster than he was expecting. Then again the Ball was tomorrow night so I guess there isn't a lot of time to waste anyway.

"So! Tell me about this girl of yours." Alex pried as she began to write down his measurements on a clipboard. "What is she like?"

"Well, she's not 'mine' if that's what you're thinking. She's just a friend. A huntress; and a really good one at that.

"Ooooh! I used to be a huntress too. Then I took a dust infused arrow to the knee. I never could afford one of those Atlas tech prosthetics, so I had to put down my throwing knives. But after a while, I discovered my true calling here! But enough about me! Is she pretty? Describe her. I've seen lots of new faces in town recently, so maybe I've seen her."

She did indeed look like an ex huntress. At least to Oscar. Dark skin, muscular arms covered in tiny scars. Her form covered by a royal blue dress draped over her like Persephone wore. Around her waist was a silver armored belt in the shape of a very detailed crown. Same went for her silver bracers and necklace; all seeming to match. Her eyes were not one, but a multitude of colors, like a jewel that oscar saw in a mine on a school field trip once. Her black hair was braided around her head with silver woven into it. Oscar thought it surreal. A huntress dressed like a debutante.

"Well...she has black hair that's red at the ends..." Oscar felt really weird doing this. Like he was giving the description of a criminal to a police sketch artist.

"..Go on." Alexandria started sifting through her many bolts of fabric and Persephone was just listening intently, seated in a comfy chair around the platform.

"She wears all black and red with a tattered red cloak; the fastest person I've ever seen! I mean her semblance is speed. She has really pretty...silver eyes.... I haven't known her for very long, but she's so kind. And radiates positivity like no one else can. Even though I'm not that good at fighting yet, she helps me and is really encouraging! Honestly? She inspires me every day."

Suddenly Oscar could feel Ozpin's concern.

"I do hope this isn't going where I think it is."

" _What are you talking about?"_ Oscar asked the old Wizard. In his head of course. He couldn't exactly strike up an audible conversation where he was right now if he didn't want the only other two people in the room to think he was crazy.

"I know how your feeling right now, Oscar. I know you told me what you feel for Ru-...Ms.Rose isn't romantic, but what I'm hearing right now is giving me cause for concern.

" _So what, I'm not allowed to think my friend is pretty?"_

 _"_ I'm not saying that. It's true, Ms.Rose is becoming quite the beautiful young lady, just like her mother. However, you're describing her like she's the  _most_ beautiful. 

" _So what if she is? You're reading too deep into this, Ozpin. Besides...it would never work out anyway. Not with you in here. No offence."_

Ozpin could feel a twinge of heartbreak in the boy.

 _"_ None taken. I've stood in the way of many relationships before. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time it's happened."

_"Wait. Why are we even talking about it like this? I don't feel that way about Ruby-"_

"Oscar!"

Persephone's voice suddenly snapped him out of his mental conversation.

"Are you ok dear? You were waxing poetic and then you just zoned out." 

 "Oh, yeah sorry! I'm ok." Oscar made a mental not to start being more aware when talking to the professor.

"Probably lost in thought, thinking of her." Alexandria teased. "Now I can definitely see you in a shade of green! Something to bring out the amber in your eyes."

"Oh Alex, stop teasing the boy!" Persephone chided. "And yes, I think a nice soft shade of green will do nicely!"

"And you said she wears a lot of red, right?" Alex asked as she went towards her bolt bin full of various shade of red.

"Right. But not just any shade of red; Red like roses!" Oscar wasn't an expert oncolor, but he knew for a fact the exact shade of red Ruby wore. That same color as the rose bush he grew in the garden in the backyard back home. 

"I see...you know, a popular trend this season is wearing your significant other's favorite color mixed with your own." Alex explained as she yanked out a bolt of red fabric. "I know she's only your friend, but if she means that much to you..."

"I'd actually really like that." Oscar admitted. Either he was oblivious to what Alexandria was implying, or he did and ignored it.

"Wonderful!" Alex exclaimed, "Now i have an idea! Now Persey, Watch as I turn this Farm Boy into a Prince!" Alex proclaimed as she threw a bolt of green fabric across her cutting table, holding the end of the fabric so the rest unrolled across the flat surface, giving her plenty of material as she set to work her magic.

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writer's block hit me in the middle of writing this chapter, but as soon as episode 9 of Volume 6 hit, my fashion inspiration went into overdrive! I am SO SORRY it took me so long to get this chapter out. life has been pretty crazy and writer's block certainly didn't help. I was gonna wait until I was able to add a little something extra, but you guys waited long enough. I'm gonna try to get the next chapter out a little sooner than this one, but hey, ya can't rush art! So enjoy and I am not sorry for the feels! MWAHAHAHAH!


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